Entering a new grade can be daunting for any student, and fifth grade marks a significant milestone in elementary school. To ease her students' anxieties, Christina Parr, a fifth-grade teacher at Westwind Elementary, had her class read Alma and the Worry Stone during the first week of school. 

Alma and the Worry Stone is a short story about A little girl who is very worried about going to school. She has many worries about her teacher, her classmates, and her schoolwork. Her worries then begin to spiral out of control and she begins to worry about a dragon breaking into her classroom or a magic bean turning her invisible. Her mom gives her a worry stone and tells her to put all her good thoughts and memories together into the stone so that anytime she is worried at school she can hold her stone and be reminded of good thoughts.  At the end of the school day Alma began to have a new worry, about all the fun she might miss out on if she goes home. She remembers her worry stone and can use it to calm her nerves. 

After the story, Parr had her class table groups come up with five different things that they were worried about when coming into fifth grade. They then had to think through their different worries and come up with two different ways to overcome each of their worries. They were able to strategize with their table group different things to say or do when they felt worried about something.  

Parr said the students had amazing discussions when they shared their worries, came up with strategies, and were open to each other, building trusting relationships. 

“When students are able to talk about their worries with not only their peers but also their teacher, it lets them know that they aren’t alone and that many of their friends have the same worries,” said Parr. 

Each student was given one color of clay so they could make their own worry stone. If they wanted more colors for their stone, they had to communicate with each other and make a trade. The students were able to make it any shape that they would like. As they formed their worry stone the students were told to think of good memories and thoughts, just like Alma did in the book. The students had quiet time in the end to really put positive thoughts into their stone.  

The students truly loved being able to create their own worry stones and talked to their classmates about the different funny stories or good thoughts that they were putting into their stones. They will keep the worry stones in the classroom so when testing, Tiger Tours, middle school course paperwork and other high anxiety situations come up, they can revisit the worry stones and remember the purpose of them, the positive thinking they put into them, as well as discussing the different strategies they came up with that may be beneficial for them to use during the year as needed. 

Parr shared that this activity has helped her identify some of the fears and anxieties her students experience, allowing her to guide them through these emotions with compassion and respect for their emotional needs. 

"Engaging activities like this help set a positive classroom culture for the year," said Parr. "They make students feel comfortable and safe at school, reinforcing that their feelings are always valid in this classroom. These activities show students that I care about them as whole people, not just their academic needs. They start to recognize they can trust me with their feelings and come to me when they need a safe person to talk to.” 

“Through this activity,” said Parr, “students were able to express what they were scared about this year and share with the class, which in turn validates that this classroom is a safe place where they can be comfortable." 

Incorporating engaging activities like this is crucial for boosting students' excitement and comfort when it comes to school.